Random Update

I haven't updated for a while. I have put posts up, but they're mostly about Lost. And while my life does slightly revolve around that show, it mostly revolves around my darling children and dear husband. So...in no particular order and with absolutely no pictures, here is an update from the Blue Family:

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1) Spring Break was this past week. For my elementary kids it continues into this week. Miss Q, the lucky high schooler, goes back tomorrow. Wednesday she gets to take the Math AIMS test. Keep her in your prayers!

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2) This past week was also Fair Week. I was going to take the kids myself, but since I was rear-ended Hubby got to spend Wednesday with me instead of going to work. He was supposed to make sure that I took it easy. Poor guy. I drug his cute fanny to the Fair with the kids. Then I sauntered from exhibit to exhibit while he chased the little people around. It was very nice...For Me! ;)

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3) Miss Q entered a painting into the Fine Arts category. She won a third place ribbon. She was shocked. Somehow she didn't make the connection between entering a fair and being judged. She'd never won a ribbon before and was ecstatic!

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4) Rose entered a bag into the Home Economics category. She won a first place ribbon. I think it was the french seams, grommets, and sturdy handle that won the judges over. She made the bag herself, with me just giving the occasional instruction.

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5) Anne entered a skirt into the Home Economics category. She won a first place ribbon. She loves this skirt and wears it often. She was worried that the judges would realize she had worn it and that it wasn't new. Gasp!! I told her that if it was clean the judges would never know. She also worried that those judges would try to sell her skirt to someone else. (In Miss Q's category they sell their stuff.) The judges themselves assured her that the Home Ec category sells nothing. The exact quote: "We spend way too much time making these things to just sell them off like that." Anne is happy to have a blue ribbon and is greatly relieved to have her skirt back in her hands.

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6) I entered the Snow White costume I made last summer for Into the Woods. It won a first place ribbon. The fair judges don't give out just one First place, one Second place, and one Third place. They can give as many of each ribbon as they want. The places are determined by the quality of the work. I was quite pleased that my work earned a blue ribbon.

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7) I also entered a cross-stitch sampler I had made. I was confused when I first saw the ribbon on this one...it was purple. But it said "Outstanding" so I figured it was alright. Turns out, purple is better than blue. Who knew?! I won an award from the town's EGA chapter, Embroidery Guild of America. The award was Ten Dollars cash. How exciting!

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8) We had an earthquake on Easter Sunday. I was kind of ticked by it. I was having some pretty hard contractions that had started to get closer together. Then the ground started shaking and the contractions stopped. Oh well. The quake lasted about a minute or two. The epicenter was many mile away from us. No damage was done. There were several aftershocks during the remainder of the day.

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One of my neighbors wants to move out of here now. The quake really scared her. With what I know of tectonic plates and the earth's shifting movements, an earthquake could happen anywhere. I would much rather deal with a little shaking than some other natural disasters...

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9) I was officially cleared to have this baby any time last Monday. I had another appointment today. I am dilated to 2-3 cm. Which means NOTHING! I have been dilated to 3+ for weeks before I've given birth. I really wish there was an accurate indicator that would tell me when this babe is coming. It would be so much more convenient for me. Haha! Listen to me whine. Sorry about that. I have everything prepared for my kids and for the two Fosters. Babysitters in place, respite plans in place, bags packed. Now I just need some regular contractions 5 - 7 minutes apart or my water to break. ;)

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10) Conference freaked me out. The Saturday sessions were fine, but Sunday morning was NOT! We listened to conference over the internet and I didn't catch the name of the man who gave this particular talk, but...he really freaked me out! He gave a lovely talk about how we shouldn't take offense even when horrible things happen to us. I'm sure that in a few months I will look on this talk as one of my favorites. I have often talked about this very subject in lessons I have given in Sacrament.

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The problem I have with his talk is that he kept talking about women who died in childbirth!!! Aaaaahhh!!!! And the babies died too! After he started talking about the second woman dying, I screamed for Hubby to turn the blasted thing off!!! It was not a very good example to set for my kids, but COME ON! This whole pregnancy I have been extremely worried about either myself or my child dying. Hubby has done his best to reassure me that we'll be okay, but I'm still nervous about stuff.

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Luckily, the man's talk ended a few minutes after my outburst. I kind of zoned out after that, trying to get a grip on myself. I came back when the Prophet began to speak. Holy Guacamole!! That dear man, whom I love and sustain with all my heart, started talking about dying too! He spoke of how it was alright and how we would be together again someday. And I just couldn't take it. I don't want to be together someday with my family. I want to be together NOW. I do not want to die. I do not want my babe to die. Again, I'm sure I will look back on this talk in a few months and really appreciate his words. But as my dear Prophet was speaking, I was praying that his talk would end and end soon. Gah!

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The afternoon session was a bust for me because I just kept replaying the first speaker's and the Prophet's words about death and wondering if it was an omen...a warning to me to get myself ready. Hubby has done his best to tell me I'm crazy and am not going to die. I am trying really hard to believe him. Too bad my hormonal state with this pregnancy is a worried mess. Last pregnancy I was just grouchy about everything. Little things would irritate me greatly. I think I would rather be grouchy and irritable than paranoid and worried. :(

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11) I finally have some of my South African souvenirs out on display. They have been sitting in my memory box since my Grandparents returned from their mission back in 1987. Now they are on display in my kitchen. I will take pictures and post them at some point. Just not today.

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Well, that's all I can think of right now. All the Blue's are happy and healthy. We are just counting down to the baby's arrival. Tomorrow marks 15 days to Zero. Wish me luck...Oh! And if I do die, make sure to tell my kids how much I loved them. Hubby already knows how much I love him, but little kids tend to forget and my kids are just little enough that some of them might not remember at all.

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Did I mention that I am slightly paranoid and worried???

Forever Plaid

The official baby countdown today is 33 days until my due date and 12 days until I'm considered full-term. Yowser!

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I have quite a few projects left that I wanted to complete before the new baby boy arrives. One project is cleaning out my laundry/sewing supply room. As I was going through one of the boxes, I uncovered order forms from September and I realized...I never wrote about the costume work I did for my town's production of Forever Plaid!

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There were five men to costume. The Four Plaids and One accompanist. My costume responsibilities were:
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* White Tuxedo Jackets with Shawls and 1 button: 4 Plaids
* Plaid Tuxedo Jackets: 4 Plaids
* Black Tuxedo Pants: 4 Plaids, 1 Accompanist
* White Tuxedo Shirts with Wings: 4 Plaids, 1 Accompanist
* Black Tails Tuxedo Jacket: 1 Accompanist
* Plaid Suspenders: 4 Plaids
* Black Suspenders: 1 Accompanist
* Plaid Cumberbunds: 4 Plaids
* Black Cumberbund: 1 Accompanist
* Plaid Bow Ties: 4 Plaids
* Black Bow Tie: 1 Accompanist
* Black Tuxedo Shoes: 4 Plaids, 1 Accompanist
* Plaid Tartan Sash: 4 Plaids
* Plaid Pocket Handkerchief Square: 4 Plaids

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Did your jaw just drop? Mine did when I saw the list.
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I thought I was part of a costuming team, like I had been for Into the Woods. We had three ladies working on costumes with myself being responsible for just three. This time, however, the costuming team was split into 1) Costumer (me) and 2) Props (not me). It makes sense since there were only five guys to costume, but still! I was a bit overwhelmed as I contemplated the time and energy this project would require. Did I mention the costuming occurred during my first trimester? The trimester where I was super dizzy, nauseous, and tired?

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Fortunately for me, the producer had already arranged for her Mother to sew the Plaid Tuxedo Jackets. The dear director worried that I would be offended that I wouldn't be the one to make the Plaid Tuxedo Jackets. On the contrary, I was THRILLED! Hahaha! I've never sewn a Tuxedo Jacket before. Of course, I had never sewn any renaissance costumes either, but I did alright with those. It's a good thing that my own Dear Mother taught me how to read and follow a sewing pattern. But I was glad that I wouldn't have to sew those Plaid Jackets. Do you know how hard it is to work with plaids?? No?? Well, let me tell you...

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Working with Plaids is one of the most difficult, hair-pulling things to do in this world. Seriously! You have to be so careful when you cut out the pattern pieces, taking into account where each seam line will be, how the material will fold and hang. Matching up plaid pieces perfectly could be an Olympic Sport. And I am not exaggerating in the slightest. It really is that difficult. I knew that I could do it, but I also knew that by the end my eyes would probably have fallen out of my head. I was happy to let someone else do that nasty job.

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As for the other items, at first I was going to make the white tuxedo jackets, suspenders, cumberbunds, and bow ties. Luckily for me, before I had purchased the material or started sewing, I had stroke of brilliance...Check E-Bay! I am so, so glad that I did. I found a used tuxedo dealer in Florida. He was great to work with over the phone. He had a generous knowledge of tailoring and was familiar with the Forever Plaid costumes. The only draw back...he didn't write my order down correctly! Aargh! Fortunately, I had paid extra for two day delivery so I was able to sort out most of the problems. But even on the second order he sent me things that were incorrect. Sheesh!!! It's a good thing everything was so inexpensive. I offered to pay for the mistakes out of my own pocket. The producer told me not to worry. Her production company is just starting out. Their costumes at that point only consisted of things that were made for Into the Woods and Beauty and the Beast. She cheerfully told me she would just add the items to her costume stock for future productions.
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Can I just tell you what a pleasure it is to work with people who are optimists! People who take what could have been a lemon situation and see it as lemonade instead! I love working with those kinds of people. :)

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There were a a couple of changes to the original costume idea. Instead of black shoes, the Plaids wore white shoes. The white shoes were sent by mistake, but I loved how they looked! Instead of plaid suspenders, the guys wore white ones. That change was due to limited time and limited material.

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You might be wondering where my time went if I just ordered everything from the tuxedo dealer. Well, I'll tell you. First, not every item was ordered. Some things I still had to make. Second, the items that were ordered were used. They had buttons missing, zippers that didn't work, were too big, etc. I had to do some major tailoring to get those outfits to fit and function. Third, I live in a small town with only one material store. The plaid material had to be ordered online. It took a while to get here and when it did, the plaid jackets had to be cut out first. Remember how I said it took a lot of time and energy to make sure all the pattern pieces will line up perfectly...waiting for the material to arrive and then waiting for the jackets to be cut out took up quite a bit of time. My plaid items were cut from the jacket leftovers.

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And now, a list of all the things I did to costume those four Plaids and their accompanist:

1) Ordered a ton of stuff from the tuxedo dealer.

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2) Tailor five white tuxedo shirts. This included shortening the sleeves on two shirts and replacing buttons (an easy, but time-consuming job!).

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3) Tailor five white tuxedo jackets. Why five? I ordered an extra one. The jackets all had to be the same style, but the dealer didn't have the same style available in one guy's size. I ordered a smaller version to get the right lapel. Tailoring the jackets included swapping out the lapel (that was tricky work to make it look seamless and natural), removing one type of button, adding another type of button, reattaching the jacket lining in both the torso and sleeve portions, and cleaning up the jackets so they looked crisp and fresh.

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4) Tailor five pairs of black tuxedo pants. This included replacing zippers, hemming pant legs, taking in one pair of pants, letting out another pair, and a lecture to all the men about wearing the "right type of underwear" when wearing tuxedo pants. And yes! I seriously did look five grown men in the eyes and tell them to be sure and wear supportive undies because tuxedo pants show everything.

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5) Make four plaid bow ties. This was tough because my Simplicity pattern called for bow tie hardware, yet Simplicity doesn't sell that hardware anymore! Aargh! I only used Simplicity because I wanted to be sure I could get all the necessary pieces. I just used Velcro to hold the thing together in the back. How tacky! :(

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6) Make four plaid cumberbunds. I ordered four white cumberbunds from the dealer because it was cheaper than buying the hardware! All I had to do was add a plaid panel to the front portion. They looked great!

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7) Make four tartan sashes. Tartan means plaid. These were easy to make and didn't have to from the same plaid material as the other pieces. I used a plaid tablecloth, cut it into four long sections, and hemmed the two long sides, leaving the two short sides to fray beautifully. :)

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8) Make four plaid pocket handkerchief squares. I just cut out four squares and hemmed on all sides. Easy, breezy.

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9) Help make the plaid jackets. The producer's Mom works full-time and was making these jackets in between work and family obligations. Yikes! I went over one Saturday and spent the whole day just sewing with her. It was a blast! She was such a fun lady to spend time with. My job with her was all the hand sewing. She said that by the end of the work-day her eyes were shot, then having to look at those plaids...she just didn't have the eyesight or the patience to hand sew. Haha! So while she sat at the sewing machine, I made myself comfortable on her couch and stitched away. I also ironed and helped with whatever else she needed. It felt like being at home sewing with my Mom. It was a great feeling.

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It seems like I did some other stuff too, I just can't remember right now. Oh well. I am going to stop typing now and let you enjoy pictures of the final product.

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The Plaids getting ready to go on stage.

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The Plaids performing Lady of Spain. .

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Don't the Plaids look great in their white tuxedo jackets with the plaid bowties, cumberbunds, and pocket squares! The red rose boutonnieres just pop against the white. Very dapper! .
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See how well that jacket fits! .
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Close-up of another Plaid. Check out the lapels on that jacket! .

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Do you see what I mean about a ton of props? .

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A Plaid duet. .
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The quartet performing. On this night they forgot to put in their pocket squares.

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Wearing the tartan sash.

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Performing in the plaid jackets. Don't they hang beautifully!

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The venue was the garden area of a local restaurant. This production was a dinner theater. Such fun! It sold out both nights. The restaurant added a few tables to accommodate more people.

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The Plaids looking fine after the show. Do you see how well the plaids match up? That is professional quality right there!

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The cast and crew. This is the only picture I found of the accompanist. He looked quite nice in his black tuxedo tails sitting at the piano.

Into the Woods

Well, I am finally posting about Into the Woods. I was originally waiting until the CD drive on my computer could be fixed, so I could put up a bunch of pictures of the other cast members. But it looks like my CD drive is dead and gone for good. That means you only get pictures from my camera. Which means lots of pictures of Hubby.

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They didn't allow pictures to be taken during the performance. Being my guilty self, I followed this rule, even though my sister-in-law was unashamedly taking picture after picture. She promised to share and true to her word she sent me copies...on a CD. Grrr. ;)

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Hubby heading out the door.

No make-up, No costume. Just his plain, old self.

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Turning into the Wolf!

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His metamorphosis helpers

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The Wolf!

Hubby is wearing a prosthetic on his nose and chin, to give him a more wolfy look. His hair was better the first day. It was gelled into place to look like wolf ears. The lady who helped him do it was sick the day I took this picture.

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Full Wolf Costume-Front View

The ladies who made this did a fantastic job!!

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Full Wolf Costume-Back View

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The Wolf costume looked so good on stage! I had no idea what it would look like. When he first came on stage, I yelped and covered my eyes. Haha! It was such a surprise. And the way he moved while in this costume...Wow! It was very animalistic and kind of creepy. I could hardly watch his scenes with Little Red and Grandma. He was just too creepy for me. Haha!! What a funny thing to say about your husband. ;)

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The ladies who made the costume were cursing the fur fabric. It did not cooperate at all. I think it turned out great! It's already been borrowed a few times for other shows.

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Look out Little Red! He's trying to eat you!!!

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Now he's pretending to be nice.

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His true colors coming out again!

Watch out Granny! Run Little Red!

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What big eyes you have Grandma!

The picture cracks me up.

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After singing Hello Little Girl, Hubby only has a few minutes to take off his wolf coat and pants, throw on his Prince pants and Granny's nightgown, and jump into bed pretending to be Grandma. Again, this picture cracks me up. Seeing it in real life though, absolutely Hilarious!!

After he's killed, crew members wheel him (still in the bed) off stage. He then had to quickly scrub his face, tame his hair, and don his Princely attire.

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The Prince Brothers

The man who played Rapunzel's prince directed Hubby and the girls in Annie!

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After the performance ended, we were able to meet and greet the cast. I left Cakes home with a babysitter. There's no way he would have sat through the entire play. Joe, Anne, and Rose were so excited to see their Dad performing!

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Prince Charming and his adoring family

pictured are Joe, Anne, and Rose with my Grandma and Aunts

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Hubby and the Baker

Showing there are no hard feelings, even though Hubby totally macked on the Baker's Wife!

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The full Cast in one set of costumes

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Full Cast in another set of costumes

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Some cast members only had one costume they wore the entire show. Others had quite extensive costume changes! Cinderella was the worst. She had her dirty cinder clothes, ball gown, wedding gown, and pretty peasant clothes. Luckily, her make-up stayed about the same through the show. She only had to remove some ash after the first set of songs.

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Even though Hubby only had three costume changes, he had to deal with cleaning all the wolf make-up off and applying more princely make-up in a matter of minutes. Granny had a tough time too. She played three characters, Granny, Cinderella's Mom, and the Giant. She also made many of the costumes (including the Wolf). She is a trooper!!

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The show was great. I am so glad that I was able to see Hubby perform in it. The entire cast did a superb job. I absolutely love the theatre and am very grateful to have two active production companies in my city.

They Have Returned!

Annie is officially over. Hooray!

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This afternoon Rose and Anne came home from school, finished their homework in twenty minutes flat, and left to play with friends!!! They were so excited. They got to play until close to 6:00 pm. And when they got home, they were happy. No meltdowns. No exhaustion. No rushing about trying to find their jazz shoes and the tube of lipstick. Nope. They were calm and happy! It was refreshing. I should clarify...Both girls were thrilled to be in Annie, but it was a lot of work. It took most of their free time away. Plus it sapped at their energy levels. And, as every Mom knows, when you mix exhaustion and stress into a little girl you will end up with (as we refer to it in our family) a melted mess of a kid.

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Hubby got home just in time for dinner. He was calm and happy too. No rushing to shove food down his throat before going in search of the eyeliner. No rushing to change his clothes and get out the door. Just calm. It was great! Joe had a performance this evening with his Kindergarten class, and even getting ready for that, everyone was calm! So nice! No stress. No rushing about. Just calm. *sigh* It's so nice to have my family back.

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And as I am typing this, the girls are in bed sleeping and Hubby is on the couch watching Dr. Who. He was three episodes behind! Poor guy! Haha! He watched the first episode, The Next Doctor, last night. Currently he is watching The Planet of the Dead. And while I'm on the subject, I have to say...I am going to really miss David Tenant playing The Doctor. He has done such a great job. I've really fallen in love with his Doctor. And I just know the final two episodes are going to really pull at the heartstrings. For one thing, they are bring back Donna (Catherine Tate). I am so happy about this. I hated how they ended her story. It was such a kick in the bum! I hope she gets her memories back or at least finds her Silent Man.

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Anyhoo, I'm glad to have my family back. Now I can have Hubby paint my bathroom. ;)

Picture Update

I haven't posted any pictures for a while. My computer got a virus. Hubby fixed it, but my picture program needs to be reloaded and I keep forgetting to ask him. There is another picture program on my computer that is s-l-o-w! And it kind of freezes up after downloading a few pictures, making the whole process even longer. Oh well. I worked around it and now have some pictures to share.
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Homemade Bunk Beds

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My kids are big kids. And they keep getting bigger! I wanted to put bunk beds in the boys' bedroom to free up space for playing. Did you know that most top bunk beds only support between 100 - 150 pounds? And that they all have warnings about not jumping or rough-housing or rolling in your sleep due to the shakiness of the bed? Well, they do. And let me think... My oldest daughter (who turns ten in a month) is already 100 pounds. Crazy, I know. She's also already in size 8 shoes and is close to 5 foot tall, if not over! If that's any indication of how my boys are going to grow, I knew that none of the bunk beds on the market would suit our family's needs.

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I talked to one of the Air Force guys in my neighborhood to find out where they get their bunk beds. I was informed that they were special ordered, special made by one of the defense contractors. Sheesh! There went that option. Hubby quickly volunteered to make bunk beds himself. I was very skeptical. I've seen his other woodwork. I love the man, but woodworking is a talent that he is most definitely still in the development stage. Despite my skepticism0, they turned out pretty good! They are solid and sturdy. Hubby jumped up and down on them to illustrate to me how sturdy they were. I told him if he fell through and hurt himself, I wasn't going to take him to the hospital and would be mad at him for a year. He laughed and kept jumping. Surprisingly, the beds held his weight!

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The bunk bed pieces soaking up their stain.

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Hubby and Joe putting the beds together.

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Roadshow!

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Miss Q participated in our Stake's Roadshow. The whole experience for her was hilarious for me (the Mom) to watch. Miss Q had never done anything like this before. She is a kind of shy and very unsure of herself. She was worried about looking like an idiot, which is the goal of every Roadshow I've ever seen! ;) She was also super excited about participating. So she would go back and forth between biting-her-fingernails-off-scared (practically begging me to get her out of it) to school-girl-giddy in anticipation. Silly Girl!

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She did a good job. She's in the middle of the picture holding a palm frawn.
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Pinocchio

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Missoula Children's Theatre came to our town. Joe, Anne, Rose, and Miss Q tried out. The three girls were cast. Poor Joe was so sad. He and another little boy (whose sister had been cast) started crying when they realized that "everyone got picked but me." Poblacito!

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The three girls had an intense week of rehearsing. Monday through Friday we would race from school to the rehearsal site. Saturday afternoon was spent rehearsing. That evening was the performance. It was an interesting take on Pinocchio. Anne played a Ballerina Doll, Rose played a Treasure Island Kid, and Miss Q played Candlewick. They were all very brave and did a great job!

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Joe and Cakes killing time before the performance.

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Anne, the cutest Ballerina Doll ever!

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Rose, the Treasure Island Kid, smiling because she just broke a window. ;)

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Candlewick and her gang, being PUNKS! Miss Q is on the right end.

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BLOCKS

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We try to keep the Sabbath day holy. It is a tough job! One of the activities that we use to keep our brains and hands occupied is building with blocks while listening to jazzy hymns. (No one said all hymns have to be slow and monotonous!) The kids begged Hubby to take pictures of their creations. Here they are. :)

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Anne's block city and flowers

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Joe's tower. Cakes helped by not knocking it down until after the picture.

(That's me in the background, trying to figure out what to name this baby!)

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Annie

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After Pinocchio, the acting bug stuck with Anne and Rose. Hubby volunteered to take them to try-outs. I made him promise that he would not try-out or let himself get roped into Annie in any way other than doting stage father. He laughed and said there was "no way he would try-out". He assured me that he was "way too busy to participate in Annie". The Bum! He had no chance against the audition ladies. He was cast as "Rooster" and the girls were cast as "Chorus".

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For the last few months, they have worked hard memorizing lines and songs, learning choreography, and developing their acting skills. Joe, Miss Q and I attended the opening night show last Thursday. It was great! Rose and Anne did a wonderful job. They sung "Hooverville" and "A New Deal for Christmas". It was such a joy to see them up there having fun. They have one more week of performances, starting tonight. Afterwards, they don't want to do another play as long as they live! Haha! As much as they've enjoyed it, they have really missed playing with friends, riding bikes, and going to bed at a decent hour.

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Hubby did a good job too. It was hilarious to watch him, Lily, and Miss Hannigan. What goofballs! Hubby did fine, but Lily completely stole the spotlight every time she opened her mouth. Hahaha!!!

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Hubby, like the girls, does not want to participate in another play for a long, long time. I told him that was fine by me! Especially since he wasn't supposed to do this one in the first place. Haha. Although, I do expect him to participate in the opera Desert Pointe in putting on next December: "Ahmal and the Night Visitors". My man can S-I-N-G!!! And Opera is right up his alley. *sigh*

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My Chorus Girls

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Lily & Rooster

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Oh! I never posted the Into the Woods pictures. I will get to that...eventually. ;)

In Which I Update...

The Mother-in-Law...

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Is recovering wonderfully. The surgeon removed most of the tumor in surgery and only had to remove a teeny bit of brain. There is a smidgen of the tumor left, but it will be wiped out with Chemo and radiation. The tumor was a very aggressive cancerous kind. My Mother-in-law is a champ. She had her surgery Friday and is already up and walking around. She is completely coherent and still has her memory in tact. She gets to go home tomorrow.

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While she was in the hospital, her hubby painted their room and put wood flooring throughout their house. Ha ha. That man kept himself busy so he wouldn't miss his wife so much. ;)

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I think I'm going to buy my Mother-in-law this pin. She'd get a big kick out of it.

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The Foster Child...

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Poor Miss Q. We are torturing her soundly. Since she has been with us she has visited an Endodontist for a root canal, an Orthodontist to get braces, and an Oral Surgeon to have three of her upper teeth removed. When she came to us she was on pain meds because her mouth hurt so much. Poor girl. We've been trying to get things better for her, but first we have to torture her. And the torture will continue next week.

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She is going back to the Oral Surgeon to have two more teeth removed. This time at a hospital.

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Here's the part where we feel sorry for me. The Oral Surgeon who will accept her insurance...he's a three hour drive away. Last time Hubby took two days off work and drove her down. This time it's my turn. I get to load up my other four kiddos and drive and drive. Normally this wouldn't be a problem, but I'm pregnant. And the magic 12 week date has come and gone without me feeling much better. Oh well. That's why they invented saltine crackers. ;)

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This trip to the oral surgeon should be the last bit of torture. Then she just has to deal with braces for a couple of years. Fortunately, our Orthodontist is local.

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Costumes...

I am sewing costumes again. Nope, not for Halloween and not for my kids. I am helping with costumes for a local production of "Forever Plaid". I thought I would be one of many helpers. Nope. I am one of two. But I got the easy part...all be it time consuming. The other lady is sewing plaid jackets. Do you know what a bear it is to try and match plaid seams together?? It is horrid! I am responsible for white tuxedo jackets, white tuxedo shirts, black tuxedo pants, plaid bow ties, plaid cumberbunds, plaid suspenders, plaid pocket squares, white pocket squares, tartan sash, and shoes. I think that's it...

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Anyhoo, the directors wanted all those items MADE!!! Aaaaahhh!!! Luckily, I have a few brains left in my head. I started looking online and found a great dealer of cheap, used tuxes and accessories. I just had to make adjustments to the items. I shouldn't say just. I spent a full day fixing the tuxedo shirts and the white jackets so the matched. One jackets collar had to be completely reworked. Fortunately it was all handwork. Why fortunately? Well, because my prego body decided it wasn't enough to attack my stomach. My head needed some attention too. I did all the handwork laying flat on my back on the couch. I just held the jacket up over my belly and sewed away.

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I still have to get the pants hemmed. I just received them Saturday and have a fitting scheduled for tonight with the "Plaids". The bow-ties are sewn. All that is left are the other plaid items. But those have to wait until I get the scraps and leftovers from the plaid jackets.

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As for my own children, they will be wearing costumes from previous years. All except Joe. I don't have any boy costumes his size. With everything else we have going on, the Hubby and I will probably just don our matching Hawaiian outfits and call it a day.

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The Baby...

Can I just say that the number FIVE sounds so weird to me. I just keep saying it over and over in my head. Five. Five. Five. I can't seem to wrap my mind around the fact that I will be a mother to Five children.

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The baby is healthy. My doctor did an ultrasound at my last appointment. When I looked at the monitor I thought the doc's hand must be shaking because the image was so jumpy. But no. It was my baby. That kid was all over the place. The funniest thing was that the kid is using my uterus like a trampoline. The kid would bend his/her little legs then push off from the side. He/She would go sailing across the uterus, then settle back into place like a feather drifting down. It was funny to watch...for now. I sure hope that kid settles down before he/she gets much bigger. I've had jumpy, active babies in utero before. They are very uncomfortable to play host to...

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This is a picture of the babe getting ready to jump. I still can't decide if I think the babe is a boy or a girl. But since I usually get it wrong anyways, I guess my prediction doesn't matter much.
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Simplicity Pattern # 5840

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Pattern # 5840 is described as "Unisex Hooded Capes and Men's Fantasy Costumes". I used View B to make one of the Witch's costumes for the Desert Pointe Production of Into the Woods. This costume is the Witch's Cloak. It is worn during the first act. The material was a black stretchy velvet. Beautiful, but a bit hard to work with. The first problem was that the right side of the fabric was so slippery that when I put the right sides together to cut out the pieces, the material kept shifting. The material also had a good bit of stretch to it, but didn't lay quite evenly. So each piece, although cut at the same time using the same pattern piece, was a slightly different size.

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The cutting problem was remedied by using silverware. Yep. You read that correctly. I dumped all of my knives and spoons onto the pattern top to keep the pattern piece in place while I was cutting. This technique worked marvelously!!! (thanks for the tip Mom!) The knives worked the best because they are flat and so hold things down evenly and firmly. But I didn't have enough knives to cover the entire pattern. Spoons were the next best thing. :)

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Once the pieces were cut I ran into the another problem with the material. It shed!! Fortunately, it only shed from the cut edges. I had little black fuzz all over my clothes and the stuff kept going up my nose and into my mouth when I breathed. Yuck! Fuzz in the airways is not a good thing for my allergy and asthmatic self.

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This costume was super-easy to make. The pattern was clear and easy to follow. There were only about eight pieces to work with. First, I attached the cloak front and back to a yoke at the shoulder seams. Second, I added the one-piece sleeves to either side. Third, I sewed the one side up from the cloak hem to the sleeve cuff. Fourth, I sewed up the other side. Fifth, I added the hood. At that point I could have hemmed the thing and been done. But since this is a fancy costume, I had a few more things to do...

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My sewing buddy. He sat in my lap during the entire process. It takes great skill to sew with a two-year-old on your lap. And I have great skill! Hahahaha! ;)

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Before I get into the extras, I need to clarify one of my sewing deviations. Head Honcho again brought me the pattern and material for this costume. I had a limited amount of fabric to work with. In order to get all the pieces cut from the black velvet, it was necessary to scale down the hood. I don't know if you can tell from the pattern picture, but their hood is quite pointy in the back. My hood has a smaller point and thus used less fabric. The hood is still large enough to cover the entire head and face when pulled down. Which is all I need the hood to do!

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First extra, embroidered ribbon. I lucked out when I found this ribbon. Silver and blue on a black background. Perfect for my witch's cloak. Subtle, yet beautiful. I used the ribbon to line the lower edges of the yoke in the front and back, the sleeve cuffs, and the hood's front edge. I used a small zigzag on top and bottom to attach the ribbon.

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After the ribbon was added, I hemmed all the raw edges. This material did not want to fold. Not at all! So I tossed the cloak into my sewing machine and rolled the raw edges to the inside as I went along, using a straight stitch. This technique worked fine.
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Second extra, snaps. Toward the end of Act One, the Witch changes from an ugly, old hag into a beautiful young woman. She will come onto stage wearing her beautiful red gown (under the cloak) and her ugly mask. The robe needed to completely conceal the gown until the change. Then it needed to come apart quickly for the big reveal. Snaps were the perfect solution. They are sturdy when snapped together, a small tug will pull them apart completely, and there are no loud sounds when they come apart.

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I used twelve black snaps, hand sewn in, down the entire length of the cloak's front. The first two are only an inch apart. The remaining ten are at five inch intervals. They are sewn in using a quadruple thickness of heavy duty polyester thread. Those babies aren't going anywhere!

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Close-up of the top snaps.

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A wider view of the snaps.
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The third, and final, extra was pockets. GIANT pockets. The Witch had pyrotechnics she had to carry. Plus an apple and a few other miscellaneous items. She needed wide, deep pockets. The funky texture of the black velvet came in very handy at this point. I stitched the pockets, made of a black cotton broadcloth, into the inside of the cloak. One of each side. The stitching did not show at all in the front! It just blended right in. Hooray!

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I used two straight lines to join the pockets to the cloak. To figure out the placement of each pocket, I put the cloak on myself and reached my arms into the opposite sides, gauging where it would be most comfortable and most easily accessible.

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Front View of the finished cloak.
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Back View of the finished cloak.
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Close-Up of hood and shoulders.
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I never got a picture of the Witch wearing this cloak. :( If you have one, please send it to me.

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I did get a picture of the costume waiting it's turn backstage. Can you see it peaking out?

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I needed a picture of someone wearing the costume, to show how it hangs. Rose volunteered to help. The sleeves and overall length of the cloak are intentionally too long. The length gives the garment a more mysterious feel and helps to hide more of the Witch's body.

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This costumes turned out so, SO well!!! It was a super-easy pattern and the result is perfect. I would definitely use this pattern again.

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When I saw the play and saw the Witch first come out wearing this cloak, the effect was magnificent. The Witch walked hunched over and this costume hung on her wonderfully! The black velvet gave a haggard appearance and the hang of the garment over her hunched form made her appear quite overweight. And then when she dropped the cloak and stood in her beautiful red gown, the difference was significant and breathtaking! It was complete WOW moment for the audience. I love WOW moments in plays. They make me happy! :)